Trong đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay đã giúp cho chúng ta có một sự phân biệt về sự chú tâm vào việc vào tiếp xúc Chúa Giêsu của hai chị bà Maria và bà Mattha. Để tiếp đón Chúa Giêsu vị khách quý của gia đình một cách chu đáo, bà Martha đã rất lo lắng và chú tâm tới các chi tiết tỉ mỉ trong việc tiếp đón Chúa, còn trong khi đó, Mary đã chỉ có biết chú ý tới Chúa Giêsu, Bà tiếp đón Chúa bằng cách ngồi nghe Chúa dạy, hầu hạ bên Ngài như là vị khách quý của họ. Thế nhưng Mary được ca ngợi, còm Martha thì bị trách mắng. Bà Martha bị Chúa Giêsu trách không phải là vì sự bận rộn của bà trong việc nấu ăn đãi tiệc mừng Chúa, nhưng vì bà đã quá lo lắng, bận tâm và cũng vì thái độ oán giận của bà. Bà Martha muốn có sự tiếp đón Chúa một long trọng. Mục đích của bà thật vô cùng đáng quý nhưng mục đích tốt của bà đã để lẫn lộn với rất nhiều động cơ khác. Vì thế Thánh Phanxicô de Sales nói rằng bà thiếu sự đơn sơ. Thật ra chỉ có một mục đích và chỉ có một động lực quan trọng nhất đó là đến với tình yêu Thiên Chúa, nhưng bà đã đánh mất vì sụ bận rộn của bà.
Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, chúng ta nhận thấy rằng có lẽ bà Martha đã quên rằng không phải chỉ có một mình bà đã mời Chúa Giêsu, nhưng Chúa Giêsu cũng đã mời bà. Những sự tiếp đón, hay lòng hiếu khách nào mà chúng ta đã sẵn sàn để tiếp đón cho những người khách của chúng ta? nếu chúng ta để họ ngồi một mình trong phòng khách váng lạnh, trong khi chúng ta quá bận rộn với việc nấu nướng, đài đàng mà không có thời giờ với họ? Nếu chúng ta muốn được gần gũi với Chúa, chúng ta cần phải dành thời giờ để gần với Chúa Giêsu, ngồi bên cạnh Ngài và lắng nghe những gì mà Chúa muốn nói với chúng ta. Đây là những gì Chúa Giêsu mong muốn nơi mỗi người chúng ta.
In the gospel passage we have a distinction between being attentive to the details of hosting and of being attentive to the guests. Martha was very anxious and attentive to the details of hosting whereas Mary was very attentive to Jesus as their guest. Mary is praised and Martha is challenged.
Martha is challenged not for being so busy but for being so anxious, for her attitude and for her resentment in her busyness. Francis de Sales says she lacked simplicity. Martha wanted to treat our Lord well. Her intention was extremely praise-worthy but it was so mixed up with so many other motives that the one and only important motive of loving God was lost. Simplicity means that we do not consider or do not have any other aim in all that we do but the single desire to please God. Simplicity is inseparable from charity, from the way we treat one another. We normally please God when we love our neighbor as ourselves: when we sincerely listen, kindly respond and graciously attend to the needs of another.
In today's Gospel we see that perhaps Martha forgot that not only had she invited Jesus but that Jesus had invited her. What kind of hospitality do we give our guest if we leave them alone while we are too busy to spend time with them? If we want to get close to the Lord, we need to take the time to go with Jesus, sit at his feet and listen to him. This is what Jesus expects of each and every one of us.
Lord, with Your grace may we attend to one another’s needs kindly and graciously, doing what needs to be done and being present and attentive to one another.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Luke 10:40–42
In many ways, this statement of our Lord summarizes the most important and central message of the Gospel. We are all called to choose “the better part” every day.
Jesus was close friends with Martha, Mary and Lazarus. He frequently visited their home, which was only a short distance from Jerusalem. On this occasion, when Jesus was visiting their home, one of these siblings, Mary, had placed herself at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him and conversing with Him. Martha was busy with the important details of hospitality and appeared to be upset with Mary, so she confronted Jesus, asking Him to tell Mary to help her. But in so doing, she was also unknowingly trying to dissuade Mary from the most important purpose of her life.
As Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, she gave us an example of the most important focus we must have in life. Though our days will be filled with many necessary duties, such as cooking, cleaning, working, entertainment, and caring for others, we must never forget that which we were made for and that which we will be doing for all eternity: adoration of our glorious God.
Consider all that occupies your day. Though most of what you do may be important, do you daily take time out to adore our Lord, listen to Him and glorify Him through your prayer? We can often make time for many other important duties in life, as well as those that are not so important. We may spend hours on chores, immerse ourselves in movies, devote whole evenings to reading, fulfill our duties in the workplace, but only devote a minute or two each day, if even that, to silent prayer and adoration of our God!
What would happen to your life if you chose “the better part” for a full hour every day? What if you decided that the first hour of your day would be dedicated to an imitation of Mary in the Gospel passage and that you would do nothing but adore Jesus through silent prayer and meditation? At first, you may think of the many other tasks you could be doing at that moment. You may decide that you do not have the time for extended prayer every day. But is that true? Perhaps you are actually being Martha to yourself, saying to yourself that you should do more important things with your time and that Jesus will understand if you do not spend time with Him alone in adoration and prayer every day. If that is you, then be very attentive to this Gospel passage. In many ways, Jesus deeply desires to say this about you. He wants to say of you that you have chosen the better part for an extended period of time every day and that this will not be taken from you.
Reflect, today, upon that which is most important in life. Dispel excuses and temptations to simply fulfill all the other important duties of life, neglecting that which is most important. Reflect upon the simple truth that Jesus does want you to devote much time to Him every day for silent prayer and adoration. Do not give into excuses and distractions. Commit yourself to remain at the feet of Jesus, adoring Him, listening to Him and loving Him. If you do, you will find that your life is more ordered and that the time you spend in prayer bears more good fruit than every other important duty you fulfill every day.
My inviting Lord, I do believe that adoration of You in silent and devout prayer is the most important duty I have to fulfill every day. May I never be deterred from adoring You every day, devoting as much time as You desire to silent and loving prayer. May I discover this gift of prayer, dear Lord, and sit at Your feet with Mary and with all the glorious saints. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me and move me to choose the better part. I want to have a healthy balance of prayerful contemplation and loving service in my life. I want my charitable works to be sustained by communion with you and for my life of prayer to flourish in works of love.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Martha of Bethany: The Gospel story of Martha and Mary invites us to reflect on our daily lives and examine our life of service and our life of prayer. On the outside, it looks like Martha is doing the right thing. Her house was filled with guests, and someone had to prepare the meals, clean the house, and keep everything in order. But the Gospel tells us that internally, Martha was anxious and worried and burdened by much serving. The ideal we need to seek is service in love. Instead of being anxious, we should strive for joyful service. Instead of being worried, we should strive to please both God and our brothers and sisters. If we do our best and are attentive to the needs of others, there is no reason to be anxious and worried. Serving others shouldn’t be a burden because what we do for others, we do for Jesus Christ. This doesn’t mean that we won’t be tired, exhausted, or have to solve problems as they arise. It means rather that we will carry our burden with Christ and for Christ. It means that we will be aided by the fortitude of the Holy Spirit. We shouldn’t think of Martha and Mary, service and prayer, as competing in our lives. The ideal is found in a unity of life, where work can be prayer and prayerful work can be apostolate. As Saint Paul says: “carry one another's burdens, and thus you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Both prayer and work need to be sustained by love.
3. Lessons Learned: Mary encountered Jesus by placing herself at the feet of Jesus and listening to the words of her Master. Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and obeyed the words of his Lord. Mary sought to live according to Jesus’ teaching; Paul was called to be an Apostle to the nations. Mary and Martha learned how to live in communion and in harmony. As well, Paul learned that he had to enter into communion with the Church, he had to be baptized and live in harmony with the other Apostles. “Only in such communion with everyone could he have been a true apostle” (Benedict XVI, September 3, 2008). Our encounter with Jesus is an event that transforms us. Some of us are like Martha, busy with and burdened by much serving. In this case, we need to hear the invitation of Christ to listen to his words and make sure that our work is fruit of prayer and love. Some of us are like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus, but very soon, we need to stand up and live out the Gospel we have heard and contemplated. Some of us are like Paul, headstrong and passionate, but in need of being transformed by Jesus Christ, entering into deeper communion with others and with the Church, and being led by the Holy Spirit.
Opening Prayer: I am so grateful to be able to set aside this time to be with you and contemplate your Word, O Lord. I am so grateful that you have given me the gift of faith, by which I know with utter certainty that you are the source of all the truth and grace I need to grow in wisdom and holiness. I consecrate this time to your glory and the advance of your eternal Kingdom. Open my heart to receive and embrace whatever you want to give me today.
Worried and Anxious: Jesus knows what we are going through. When Martha came to him with her complaint, he acknowledged and expressed clearly and precisely the turbulence she was experiencing: Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. Surely he could say the same thing about us right now. How heavily the worries and anxieties of life weigh upon us! Something within us makes us think we need to solve them all, right away, and everyone around us should come to our aid. The voice of the Lord reaches out to us amid the noise of our self-absorption and invites us to release the tangle of worries that paralyzes our hearts: Only one thing is necessary: to stay close to the Lord, to listen to him, to trust in him, to do all things joyfully for him. Somehow, Martha’s good and loving desire to serve Jesus and his disciples had lost its purity and so lost its joyfulness. The same thing happens to us. We want to do good things. We want to build up Christ’s Kingdom. We want to fulfill the duties of our state in life. But as we engage in all our activity, we tend to lose sight of the real reason behind everything—simply to love God and love our neighbor. Whenever our loving work becomes a joyless burden, we need to do exactly what Martha did: burst in on Jesus, unburden our hearts, and listen carefully to whatever he has to say to us.
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